England beat India by an innings in three days at Old Trafford

England stormed to a resounding victory over India inside three days at Old Trafford to take a 2-1 lead in the Test series with one match to play.

The hosts took nine wickets in an extraordinary session after tea to bowl India out for 161 and win the fourth Test by an innings and 54 runs.

For the second match in a row, spinner Moeen Ali was instrumental in the final push, taking 4-39 as England made light of the absence of the injured Stuart Broad,
whose nose was broken by a Varun Aaron bouncer
at the end of England's first innings.

James Anderson claimed 2-18 and Chris Jordan took the final two wickets in two balls to the delight of a full house at a sun-drenched ground.

The hosts had earlier posted 367 all out, with Joe Root's 77 and Jos Buttler's 70 giving them a lead of 215 runs, with 61 overs left in the day to bowl out India before Sunday's predicted downpours.

India in England 2014

1st Test

Trent Bridge

Drawn

2nd Test

Lord's

India won by 95 runs

3rd Test

Southampton

England won by 266 runs

4th Test

Old Trafford

England won by an innings and 54 runs

5th Test

The Oval

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In the end they needed only 43, completing an extraordinary turnaround by a team that was heavily beaten in the second Test at Lord's to extend their winless run to 10 Tests.

Even more remarkable is the transformation of Moeen, who took only 10 wickets at an average of 45 in his first four Tests this summer, but now has 12 victims at 14 in his last two.

England will hope to carry their winning momentum into the final Test at The Oval, starting on Friday, where only an India victory can deny them the series.

Chris Woakes, taking the new ball in Broad's absence, got the breakthrough for England with a delivery that nipped back slightly and rapped Murali Vijay's pads in front of leg stump.

But the real havoc was wrought after tea in a breathless period in which five wickets fell for 13 runs in 29 balls.

Broad had X-rays for a suspected broken nose and did not take the field in India's second innings

Gautam Gambhir nicked Anderson down the leg side for 18 and, from the first ball of the next over, Cheteshwar Pujara was given out lbw to Moeen, although TV replays - unavailable to umpires in this series with India refusing to use the Decision Review System - suggested the ball was missing leg stump.

Ajinkya Rahane was superbly caught by Moeen off his own bowling and Anderson continued his hold over Virat Kohli by having the India batsman taken at second slip by Ian Bell.

In the 30 balls he has faced from Anderson in the series, Kohli has scored seven runs and been out four times.

Ravindra Jadeja was out for four in Moeen's next over as he pushed forward and edged to Jordan at slip, Mahendra Dhoni's counter-attacking 27 was ended when he dragged Moeen to Gary Ballance at mid-wicket and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was run out attempting a suicidal second run.

Roaring in from the Brian Statham End with the crowd cheering him on, Jordan then had Varun Aaron caught behind off a short ball and Pankaj Singh bowled off his toes before wheeling away in celebration with his jubilant team-mates in pursuit.

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India performance pathetic - Vaughan

Pankaj had earlier ended his wait for a maiden Test wicket in his 70th over, but only after England had pushed their lead beyond 150 runs.

Buttler mixed good fortune - he was dropped by Kohli in the gully on 34 and badly missed by Dhoni when he should have been run out for 44 - with fine strokeplay to record successive fifties in his first two Test innings.

Root was more cautious as he reached fifty off 103 balls, only to be denied a third Test century of the summer by Pankaj's unlikely intervention.

The Yorkshire batsman could not resist dabbling at a ball down the leg side and walked away cursing himself after the delivery flicked his gloves and was taken by Dhoni.

Having waited 69.2 overs to take his first Test wicket, Pankaj only had to wait two more for his next. Buttler, driving on the up, spooned a slower ball straight to Pujara at mid-off.

The runs continued to flow as Woakes cracked a fluent unbeaten 26 and Broad - the man of the match following his destructive bowling in the first innings - twice cleared the ropes before trying to repeat the shot and top-edging the ball between his helmet and his grille.

He received treatment to his gaping nose wound on the field and was later taken to hospital for X-rays, where the break was confirmed.

But by then, England were well on the way to a comprehensive Test win.

Pankaj Singh finally took his first Test wicket after 416 deliveries, eventually finishing with 2-119

To be successful in cricket, whether batting bowling fielding or captaining , you need several factors to help you, the weather, the wicket, the opposition and the umpires. Without these and the run of the ball, you can be the greatest in the world and still go home with nothing but sore feet and a blooded nose.Make the most of the fortune while the lady is smiling in your direction.

Let's not overreact either way and either pronounce success or decry it as a one-off. It's a great positive after a deeply depressing period in English cricket - what is important is where we go from here

A deeply depressing period in English cricket? Remember the nineties? That was a whole decade of hurt..This was a blip..And congrats to cook and the team

You dont score a ton in Aus like Stokes did if you cant bat. His batting will come good so he should be in for Woakes\Jordan. He was picking up wickets which is far more valuable than an allrounder who gets 20s & 30s but no wickets. This has been proved in last 2 tests where CJ & CW batting had little effect on the outcome. Ali, Stokes, Buttler, Broad, Finn, Jimmy will provide the right balance.

Let's not overreact either way and either pronounce success or decry it as a one-off. It's a great positive after a deeply depressing period in English cricket - what is important is where we go from here

Is this going to save cook's captaincy? I don't think so! he still looks like a lost school boy on that wicket! time for a clear out me thinks before winter tour! and why oh why does bell keep on being selected when he is hit and miss must be a rich mans choice!

This is very much an England team in transition, and while it would be harsh to be too critical, I do think we are a couple of bowlers light. Broad and Anderson are without doubt two of England's greatest ever seamers, but I do think Jordan and Woakes are average at best when it comes to supporting bowlers. I can't help but think Plunkett, Bresnan or Onions would be more effective in this series

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